Santos is the 6th Lawmaker to be Expelled From the House—Who Were the Others?

Rep. George Santos (R-N.Y.) leaves the Capitol Hill Club as members of the press follow him in Washington on Jan. 31, 2023. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)

Rep. George Santos (R-N.Y.) made history on Dec. 1 by being the sixth person to be expelled from the House of Representatives.

The final vote on the resolution, introduced by House Ethics Chair Michael Guest (R-Miss.) to send Mr. Santos packing was 310–115, with two voting “present,” fulfilling the two-thirds requirement for the measure.

Here is the company Mr. Santos joined as the first Republican:

James Traficant

A flamboyant Democrat from Ohio, Mr. Traficant was in the House between 1985 and 2002. He was expelled from the House, in a 420–1 vote, after being convicted on 10 federal charges including racketeering, bribery and tax evasion. He served seven years of an eight-year prison sentence. He died in a tractor accident on his farm in 2014 at the age of 73.

Michael Myers

Mr. Myers, a Democrat from Pennsylvania, served between November 1976 and October 1980 and was expelled in a 376–30 vote for taking bribes. He was sentenced to three years behind bars on federal conspiracy and bribery charges for accepting $50,000 from an undercover FBI agent in 1979 as part of an agency sting operation called Abscam.

“I’m gonna tell you somthin' real simple and short. Money talks in this business and bullshit walks,” he said about getting the cash, according to a tape recording, reported The Washington Post. “And it works the same way down in Washington.”

This was the first expulsion of a House member since the ousting those who were on the side of the Confederacy in the Civil War.

Mr. Myers, 80, is currently serving a 30-month federal prison sentence after pleading guilty last year on charges ranging from bribery to falsifying voting records over five election years.

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“This defendant used his position, knowledge of the process, and connections to fix elections for his preferred candidates, which demonstrates a truly flagrant disregard for the laws which govern our elections,” said Jacqueline Romero, U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, in a statement.

Henry Burnett

A Democrat from Kentucky, which was part of the Confederacy, Mr. Burnett was in the House between March 1855 and December 1861, when he was expelled for treason.

He served as a senator in the Confederacy between February 1862 and May 1865.

He died in 1866 at the age of 40 from cholera.

John Reid

A Democrat from Missouri, Mr. Reid served in the House for just under five months in 1861.

Despite resigning almost four months prior, he was expelled for joining the Confederacy in December 1861.

He died in 1881 at the age of 60.

John Clark

Mr. Clark, also a Democrat from Missouri, was in the House between December 1857 and July 1861.

He served in the Confederate legislature between 1862 and 1865.

Mr. Clark was expelled for being on the Confederate side, where he was also in the army.

He died in 1885 at the age of 83.

What’s Next for Santos

Mr. Santos is ineligible to receive post-congressional service benefits except privileges such as being able to walk onto the House floor. If he is convicted on any of the 23 federal charges he faces, those privileges would be gone.

Mr. Santos’s trial is scheduled to begin on Sept. 9, 2024. He has been charged with counts ranging from wire fraud to conspiracy.

In the meantime, ahead of the expulsion vote, Mr. Santos said he would stay in the political arena regardless.

“The future is endless. I mean, you never know; you can do whatever you want,” he told reporters on Nov. 30.

“Next, I’m going to do whatever I want, because whatever comes my way, I have the desire to stay very much involved in public policy and advocacy for specific issues,” he continued.

He also reiterated support for former President Donald Trump’s third bid for the White House.

Mr. Santos told reporters on Nov. 30 that he is “highly employable, because of the amount of job opportunities flooded in my direction,” though he did not go into detail.